Chapter 164: Preparing to Leave

A month later, about five days before the start of the new term at Hogwarts, a piece of news that shocked the entire magical world was published on the front page of the Daily Prophet:

"Albus Dumbledore has passed away!"

The headline was extremely simple, but the weight carried by that name was extraordinary.

As one of the greatest white wizards of all time, Dumbledore, simply by virtue of being the headmaster of Hogwarts, had disciples spread all across the magical world!

And now, the aged Dumbledore had followed Voldemort into death, having perished just after destroying him.

The consecutive deaths of the two seemed to herald the end of an era!

The funeral was hosted by the Ministry of Magic and held at Hogwarts.

It was drizzling that day, and the gloomy weather perfectly mirrored the sorrow in people's hearts.

Tens of thousands of witches and wizards gathered at Hogwarts to bid their final farewell to Mr. Dumbledore.

Jun Ma and Hermione, wearing black wizard robes, stood among a group of teachers, conversing in low voices with Dumbledore’s brother, Aberforth—a man who had never before stepped into the public eye.

One could tell that although Aberforth and Dumbledore had once harbored a deep estrangement due to the death of their sister, he still held deep affection for his older brother.

"I hope you find peace in your sorrow, sir," Jun Ma said in a deep voice. "Headmaster Dumbledore left us very peacefully..."

Aberforth merely nodded, gazing silently at Dumbledore’s coffin.

"Professor, this is truly heartbreaking!" Hermione hugged Jun Ma's arm, a look of profound grief on her face. "Headmaster Dumbledore was a good man. He loved and cherished all his students as if they were his own children. After his passing, who will be the new headmaster?"

"All of us teachers have unanimously nominated Professor McGonagall," Jun Ma whispered. "At the same time, they have also appointed me as the Head of Gryffindor House!"

"Congratulations, professor!"

The Hogwarts Board of Governors consisted of eight members, including Lucius, who was now residing in Azkaban. The newly vacated seat was taken over by Jun Ma, who, with the backing of the Qian brothers and the Ministry of Magic, now wielded considerable influence.

The wizarding world was, after all, a society composed of humans; grasp both wealth and power, and you could stand at the very top!

Soon, it was Jun Ma's turn to step up and deliver the eulogy.

Originally, this heavy responsibility was meant for the Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge.

Unfortunately, Mr. Fudge was currently at his wits' end because he was facing impeachment!

The charges against him were: protecting and tolerating Death Eaters, taking bribes, and abusing power for personal gain!

The candidates running for the new Minister for Magic were Mr. Qian Mordu, Deputy Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement; Mr. Qian Yaodu, Head of Auror Office Hit Squad One; and Mr. Qian Boduo, the French regional director for the Department of International Magical Cooperation!

Of course, the English names of these three gentlemen did not sound alike when read aloud.

At that moment, these three Mr. Qians were standing together with a group of Ministry officials, talking in low voices.

Jun Ma walked slowly to the front, cleared his throat, and cast a Sonorus Charm on himself. There were simply too many people present; without it, those in the back wouldn't be able to hear a thing.

"I am filled with sorrow, yet also gladdened to see all of you here—this is the truest reflection of Mr. Dumbledore's entire life. When he passed, he was able to have so many people come to see him off."

"I didn't know Headmaster Dumbledore for very long, but we worked together with great joy. He was a man of immense warmth and deep intellect. I remember the first time I met him..."

Though Jun Ma had not given many speeches of this kind, every single one of them was a major event. He didn't need any prior preparation; he could effortlessly speak words that moved the hearts of the crowd.

With the grand funeral concluded, Dumbledore was laid to rest by the shores of the lake outside Hogwarts Castle, forever watching over the Hogwarts that had consumed his life's blood. Every new generation of students would grow up learning and listening to his stories.

Perhaps this was the best destination for Mr. Dumbledore.

...

The new school year began on schedule!

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Magic moved with lightning speed to elect a new Minister—Mr. Qian Mordu. Elected alongside him were the new Head of the Auror Office, Qian Yaodu, and the Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation, Qian Boduo.

With the new government taking office, various departmental positions saw varying degrees of reshuffling. Old Qian’s methods were brilliant, bolstered by his two powerful brothers in key positions and the financial backing of Qian Xudu, a billionaire in the Muggle world. In a very short time, he seized control of all power.

Upon taking office, Qian Boduo of the Department of International Magical Cooperation vigorously pushed for the reinstatement of the Triwizard Tournament!

Consequently, throughout the new term, the students continually expressed great anticipation for it.

Jun Ma became the Head of Gryffindor House and also took on the role of Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts. That year, he simply spent some time keeping Hermione company while waiting for the four Mr. Qians to complete their comprehensive plundering of the entire plane.

Hermione also chose to participate in the Triwizard Tournament. Her abilities were already well above those of her peers, and with Jun Ma pulling strings behind the scenes, Hermione successfully claimed victory, thoroughly enjoying the limelight.

Time flew. Amidst the waiting of that year, the relationship between Jun Ma and Hermione developed steadily. Halloween, Christmas, birthdays, and all sorts of holidays saw them leaving their laughter in corners all across the world.

Hermione even dragged Jun Ma to meet her parents—under the pretext of a home visit by her professor, of course!

After the school year ended, Jun Ma chose to resign from all his positions at Hogwarts. This left the students reluctant to see him go, and they held a grand farewell ceremony for him.

His mission was accomplished. Although upon leaving this plane, time would effectively stand still due to the negligible flow of time relative to outside, Jun Ma had no intention of lingering on as a professor.

Whenever he visited in the future, it would simply be to accompany Hermione.

That day, Jun Ma was watching a movie with Hermione in the small private screening room of the ancient castle when his pocket suddenly vibrated.

"Hermione, I need to use the washroom!"

Using that as an excuse, Jun Ma left the room. Once outside, he pulled out the system screen and saw that the data on it had changed once again.

Shortly before, upon killing Voldemort and concluding the plane's storyline, Jun Ma had obtained 3,000 Prestige and 30,000 Energy Points.

The system had used 15,000 of those Energy Points for plane plundering, cataloging the plane within the system and granting Jun Ma a permanent, free plane transit pass. At the same time, it granted him a special privilege: should he die within this plane, he could expend a massive amount of energy to resurrect!

Therefore, the statistics in the system currently read:

Prestige: 10,000
Energy: 83,500

However, when Jun Ma checked the system data again, it had shifted. The Prestige remained unchanged, but the Energy was now: 133,500.

This indicated that the current plane had been fully assimilated and invaded, just like the *The Deer and the Cauldron* and *Infernal Affairs* planes from before!

"It seems it's time to leave! I can't just lose myself in this cradle of comfort; at the very least, I need to attain the capability for longevity!" Jun Ma took a deep breath and tapped on the system screen.

"Energy is sufficient. Upgrading the system will allow access to higher-level planes. 60,000 energy points are required to upgrade to Level 4! Upgrade now!"

"Attention: This system upgrade will grant more comprehensive capabilities, system data will be further decrypted, and new items will appear in the store. It will consume 60,000 energy points, and the host's current location will experience a two-day time pause! Plane transit will be unavailable during this period. Confirm upgrade?"

"Oh?" The sudden notification on the screen gave Jun Ma pause. Previous upgrades had been completed instantly, but this one would actually take two days! "Well, that makes me quite look forward to what comes after the upgrade! In that case, I might as well return to the main plane first!"

"Old Qian, Second Brother..." Jun Ma pulled out another communicator. This was his dedicated communication line with the four gentlemen, set up with a specialized server and heavily encrypted data transmission. "Get everything ready; we're heading back. First thing tomorrow morning, all of you report to my place!" (To be continued.)

(Tianjin)